The aim of my blog is to share all the things I enjoy as I walk around the British countryside, including scenery, photography, history and nature. This includes reviews of gear bought by myself and my husband and places we visit, along with different articles on all kinds of walking related topics.
As the old saying goes, I'll take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Grisedale Pike (Lake District) - October 2013

Day two of our short stay in the Lake District started with
a dilemma.I had set out on our weekend
break with the intention of climbing one of the larger mountains for which the
Lake District is famous.My preferred
mountain of choice was Great Gable (2,949 feet), with the intention of
ascending from Seathwaite in Borrowdale.However, as our accommodation for the weekend was located in the village
of Braithwaite, at the foot of Grisedale Pike, this slightly smaller mountain
was held in reserve.

As it turned out, day two dawned with overcast skies and
looking down towards the direction of Great Gable, through Borrowdale and
beyond, we could see the clouds were hanging heavily over the mountain tops,
meaning the majority of any climb would be undertaken in damp conditions with
poor visibility.Whilst I didn’t mind this so much, I
remembered our recent ascent of Skiddaw in similar conditions.Although this climb had been highly
enjoyable, it was nevertheless a bit disappointing to have missed out on some truly
spectacular views.A glance towards
Grisedale Pike showed very little cloud cover on the summit and so our mind was
made up for us.The car could have a
rest and we would start our walk straight from the doorstep!

Before we set off, however, I found myself faced with a
second dilemma.Should I take my
camera?Readers of my previous blog
entries will know that I had struggled to carry my Canon DSLR on long walks and
had recently invested in a set of straps by Think Tank, enabling me to carry
the camera from my rucksack’s shoulder straps.Unfortunately though, this method of carrying a camera just wasn’t
advisable for steep mountain climbing which invariably entailed a scramble up a
rock face on certain sections.As the
weather seemed less than ideal for photographs, I therefore took the decision
to leave the DSLR behind and rely purely on my iphone’s in-built camera.This, it turned out, was a decision I later
regretted and marked the beginning of my quest for a smaller, lightweight
camera….which is to be the subject of a future blog entry.

At 2,595 feet (791 metres), Grisedale Pike is situated just
over four miles west of the popular Lake District town of Keswick and one of
the most popular routes of ascent is from the village of Braithwaite, our base
for the weekend.There was therefore a very well-defined path from a small wood called Hospital Plantation which climbed steeply up the eastern side of the mountain.Very soon we were able to look down upon the white-painted houses of Braithwaite and beyond to Keswick and the shores of Derewentwater.

Braithwaite from the ascent of Grisedale Pike

The path then levelled
out for a while, which made for a very pleasant (and easier) walk, before once
again the gradient increased.Ahead I
could make out the path on a ridge at the eastern side of the mountain.It looked very steep indeed with a steep drop
at either side and I approached this, the final section of the climb with some
trepidation.

Approaching the final climb to the summit

There was a little bit of a
scramble up this rocky ridge which I found to be made difficult by the sheer
weight of my rucksack pressing me down to the extent that at one point I
actually needed assistance to get off the rock and stand upright.Having completed the “proper” climb though,
the summit was soon reached with that marvellous sense of accomplishment that I
have only experienced once before, on the summit of Skiddaw.It was truly exhilarating!

Although it was still heavily overcast, the view from the
summit of Grisedale Pike was nonetheless magnificent.

View from the summit looking south

As with most Lakeland walks, we soon found
ourselves with company as a small group of walkers reached the summit shortly
after us, and one of their party kindly took a photo with my phone of Tom and I
together.

Another Wainwright conquered!

I was at this point a bit
disappointed not to have my DSLR with me, but I still managed a few shots of
the view over towards our next destination and second Wainwright of the day,
the nearby Hopegill Head (2,526 feet).

Hopegill Head from Grisedale Pike

From Grisedale Pike the walk to Hopegill Head was fairly
easy, with a little descent in the first instance and then further ascent to
the summit.

The path between Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head

Once there I also took some
photos looking back to Grisedale Pike.It was truly stunning.How I
wished I’d had my Canon with me!

Grisedale Pike viewed from Hopegill Head

The
descent was equally enjoyable and, thankfully, a lot gentler than the climb up,
leading off the ridge known as Coledale Hause, between Hopegill Head and Eel
Crag.The path down passed waterfalls,
crossed streams and offered excellent views upwards to the ridge we’d just traversed.

On the descent

It also took us within sight of Force Crag
Mine, the last working lead mine in the Lake District which closed in 1990
following a major collapse.Eventually
the stony path down joined the road to the mine which left us with a couple of
miles of easy walking on the level before emerging back in the village of
Braithwaite – conveniently outside the excellent Royal Oak pub where I celebrated my eighth Wainwright to date!

This had been a wonderful walk and had quite possibly earned
Grisedale Pike the accolade of being my favourite mountain so far, with lots
left to explore including, of course, Great Gable.